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Living and Working Abroad

Hello Expat browser,

Most of our Paros Paradise web site is about Paros and our life on a Greek
island. This page is intended to have more information and links about
living away from your home country, where ever that may be.

If you want to read more about our particular story,
start here. If you want to read an article about how we came to choose
to be expatriates, find it here. Our first
several years we published a newsletter every few months with highlights of our
island lifestyle. Find the archives,
here.
Currently we are posting occasionally to a
blog. Check it out if you are interested in any Greek island or Greece
in general.

Some expat friends on New Year's Day

Update:

Expats,
global nomads and long term travelers are always looking for
more convenient and cheaper ways to get funds from their home
country to their residence country. Now electronics have
come to the rescue with a new company backed by Richard Branson
and others. I have used them and been quite satisfied.
My local bank charges 1% and takes 28 to 30 days to process a
draft on my USA account (wire transfers cost much more);
TransferWise charges the same 1% but takes only 5 to 7 days.
Please use this link to check them out. The first
transfer is free.

At various times for various purposes I have written articles
about specific aspects of earning a living in a foreign country. Some of
these are found on this page:

Moving-Overseas-Guide - Here is an informative and friendly site from a
couple of Brits who are making it work in Turkey.
This site has a ton of information; most applicable to all Greece.

Of the many foreigners who have relocated to Greece a few
have written books about their experiences. We highly recommend anyone
considering any foreign country should read a few personal accounts before
taking the plunge. In both
Ireland and Greece we enjoyed reading others accounts and then seeking out
the locations that they described.

The first book below we read our initial year on the island
and then later met Fionnuala and her husband Rory who maintain a house here but
now live in Ireland. The main value of this delightful story is a record
of a time that is long gone on tourism dominated islands.

The second book by John Mole we recently read and enjoyed
although it too is now a tale 30 years old. Still we felt the author did an
excellent job of developing the background behind many of the character traits
of the Greek personality. Although the story is about rebuilding a ruined
farmhouse on the large island of Evia we recognized many of our neighbours in
his characterizations.

I have not read the third book but Athens News recommends
it. The Amazon synopsis is:

An introduction to the Greek way of life, which is aimed
specifically at those intending living or working in the country and which
provides practical information and advice on travel, accommodation, health,
work, starting a business, education and recreation, with a glossary of Greek
terms and useful addresses.

Panigyri is written and illustrated by Paros residents. I have yet to see
a review of it. If you have read it, please let me know what you think.

If anyone can recommend other books or more recent accounts of expatriate
life, please email
us. Or you can write a short review for publication here.

Buying Vacation Property Overseas

For those of us that have been lucky
enough to travel abroad, we have seen some of the most beautiful land on Earth.
The people, the sights and especially the food make international travel one of
the most exotic and special things you can do. But what about making that trip
to a foreign country permanent? If you can afford a second home and the thought
of spending your summers in country isn’t doing it for you, what about buying a
little place in Greece or Ireland? Here are some tips on making your dream a
reality.

First off, rest assured that you’re not
the first person to do this. It’s estimated for instance that about four million
US citizens live abroad right now. The first thing you should do is check the
local country’s property rights. There are websites run by the International
Real Estate Association that can tell you if it’s even legal for non-residents
of a country to own land there. You should also check with your embassy about
the stability of a particular region. Remember, if you vacationed somewhere
nice, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily safe once you leave the resort.

The next step would be to seek out a
real estate broker in that particular country for help. This is when a possible
language barrier could be a problem. Luckily, there are websites available that
will have links to international brokers who do speak English. A broker who is
familiar with the local laws and customs of the region you’re looking to move to
will be able to help you find out how the local laws work when it comes to real
estate.

Another good tip is that you should
expect to pay cash. Most countries don’t have the sophisticated systems for
loans and mortgages that you are used to. If they do, the required paperwork
and legal technicalities are horrendous. So you are looking at either paying
cash or where you might be able to get a loan, a down payment of almost 50
percent wouldn’t be unusual. However, the harshness of this is usually lessened
by lower prices than you are used to at home.

Being able to retire in that pretty
Tuscan villa overlooking the vineyards or the bungalow on the beach in Thailand
is a dream millions of people have, and while it may only become a reality for
a select few, you CAN make it happen with proper planning, a helpful heaping of
common sense and a few tips to help you on your way.

Living Abroad

We recently discovered a new site that has a great many personal
interviews from expats all over the world. Expat Interviews - Very
interesting! Start with this one about us then search for what suits you.

International Living -
This was one of our first resources eons ago. Inspiring.
Identify the best places to
retire, buy real estate, and to live. Articles about savvy travel, message
boards and home swapping.

Escape From America
- New owners; new focus but still a good source
for restarting
your life overseas. aka EscapeArtist.com

Home-Sweet-Mexico.com - Is a particularly good site that includes a
discussion of cultural differences. It is full of inside information
for those who want to Work, Live, or Retire in Mexico.

Expats Reunite - an international site for anyone looking to make friends
or find lost friends or contacts anywhere in the world.

Expats
Abroad.com - A message
centre for expats worldwide as well as anyone considering travelling or living
abroad, whether looking for new friends or trying to locate old ones.